though, would want to go back to the days of j. edgar hoover and the fbi uncovering personal peck a dill ohs and using them for political game. right now on "first look," new details surrounding the scandal involving two u.s. generals and the women they were involved with. president obama will face the media head on regarding petraeus and allen, as well as the nation's fiscal cliff. and a tragic plane crash kills three pilots on their way to an faa safety conference. well, good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. and today for the first time we expect to hear from president obama directly as his administration is rocked by scandals involving two of the men he counted on most, former cia director david petraeus and afghan war commander general john allen. well, the newest headlines in the investigation are creating even more of a tangled web.

this morning "the wall street journal" reports general allen, who is now under investigation for e-mails between he and jill kelley of tampa, florida, is telling associates that he received an e-mail traced back to paula broadwell, the petraeus biographer accused of sending harassing e-mails to jill kelley. according to "the journal," allen says the broadwell e-mail was written under the pseudonym kelley patrol. it's describing kelley as a, quote, seductress, and warned the general about becoming entangled in a relationship with the married socialite. "the journal" also reports kelley tried this summer to get the fbi to drop the investigation that began with kelley's complaint of harassing e-mails traced back to broadwell. well, people familiar with the case tell "the journal" that she became worried about personal information being provided to investigators. meanwhile, "the washington post" quotes senior law enforcement officials as saying the search conducted at broadwell's home monday night marks a renewed focus on learning just how broadwell gained access to

some classified files. meanwhile, jill kelley, who has given some impression that she has some kind of state department status that officials say she does not have, called police last weekend after news crews, including nbc, staked out her home and at one point invoked diplomatic-type privileges. >> i am an honorary consul-general, so i have inviolability, so they should not be able to cross my property. i don't know if you want to get diplomatic protection involved, as well. >> so just who is jill kelley? her name has now come up in connection with two of the nation's top commanders. more now on her story from nbc's kristen welker. >> mrs. kelley, how are you doing? >> reporter: jill kelley was well known in social circles around tampa long before she became fodder for the tabloids of new york. she and husband scott, a surgeon, threw lavish parties at their ten-bedroom home that sold for $1.5 million in 2004.

black ties, top notch catering, a couple about town. >> jill was all smiling, vivacious. >> reporter: aaron fodiman publishes "tampa bay magazine" that features fancy parties and ads for high-end merchandise. the kelleys frequented its pages. >> there was always a bevy of people surrounding them. it would seem like no matter where they went, people enjoyed talking to them, being with them. >> reporter: and they were often seen hobnobbing with top military brass, including general david petraeus, connections jill kelley made while volunteering to organize social events at nearby macdill air force base. >> she is just a deep down good person, her and her family. >> reporter: jill kelley's brother, david khawam, who lives in the philadelphia area where she grew up, is rushing to his sister's defense. this, after federal authorities announced they're investigating thousands of e-mails between kelley and marine commander john allen. khawam says they are only friends.

>> all i do know is that my sister didn't do anything wrong, and i know that from talking to her, and i know she's a victim, and i don't know what else to tell you. >> reporter: the kelleys have asked for privacy and did not return our calls. they have hired high-powered washington attorney abbe lowell. kristen welker, nbc news, washington. and in a story that just gets more bizarre by the hour, you can add the comments of religious broadcaster pat robertson. on monday's edition of "the 700 club," robertson had this analysis of the petraeus/broadwell affair. >> she is an extremely good looking woman. she's a marathon runner so she's out running with him writing a biography and i think the permanent is proquintit.

the man's off in a foreign land, and he's lonely, and here's a good-looking lady throwing herself at him. i mean, he's a man. >> we'll let you see how you feel about that. well, as we mentioned, we are expecting to hear from president obama on these growing scandals later today. nbc news will have live coverage of the president's news conference from the east room of the white house beginning at 1:30 eastern time the place for politics. well, now for your look at the weather, here's nbc bill karins. scandal-free. >> as far as you know. you might have to dig a little deeper. better watch my e-mails. good morning, everyone. we are watching a nice quiet start to your day. heading out this morning in the northeast, be prepared for much colder temperatures than what you saw yesterday. you got a little taste of it going home from work or school and this morning it's even worse. windchills in the 20s and 30s areawide from d.c. to pittsburgh all the way through northern new england. a couple of people have been tweeting and sending us beautiful pictures, the northern lights last night put on a

beautiful show. vermont, new hampshire, maine got to see that. it's gone now, unfortunately. as far as today no concerns. looking like a nice day. but the middle of the country is warming up. so much of the nation will go into the quietest weather patterns we've seen in two or three weeks. temperatures are chilly everywhere as you'd expect getting into almost the beginning of the winter period and watching a couple weak area s of clouds. maybe a little shower activity from orlando to jacksonville. areas to the south there around charleston, savannah could get a little bit but everyone in new england bring the sunglasses if you're going to do driving and midwest looking at a sun and cloud mixture and temperatures warming up. anyone traveling to the west coast, some of the most beautiful weather in southern california with highs in the 80s. late yesterday i talked about

the potential for another coastal storm in the mid-atlantic next week. i'll give everyone an update. well, the rockefeller center christmas tree stands up to sandy, and almost 3 million cars recalled for steering problems. is yours one of them? plus, guess who's going to get the lion's share of the blame if the country goes off the fiscal cliff. here's a hint for you. it isn't president obama. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ if it wasn't for you ♪ don't know what i'd do

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welcome back. some stories making news this morning. a new pew research center poll finds that republicans in congress will be more to blame if the u.s. goes off the fiscal cliff. 53% of those surveyed point the finger at the gop while 29% say president obama would be more to blame. well, 20-year-old mitchell kusick of colorado has been charged with threatening to kill president obama during an october campaign event. kusick also made credible threats towards shooting and killing children at a halloween event. defense secretary leon

panetta has demoted the former head of the u.s. africa command general william kip ward for allegedly spending thousands of dollars on lavish travel and other expenses. ward will retire as a three-star general and repay the government $82,000. a man who made an accusation against kevin clash, the voice of elmo on "sesame street" has now recanted his story. he says their sexual relationship was adult, their sexual relationship was adult and consensual, and clash says he is relieved. well, this year's rockefeller christmas tree is on its way right now to washington, d.c., from new jersey. the 80-foot-tall survived hurricane sandy and the tree lighting ceremony will be held on november 28th. here's your dish of scrambled politics. a week after he and mitt romney lost the election, he and paul

ryan went back to work on capitol hill with no hard feelings. still, it came as a surprise. >> we thought we had a really good chance of winning. you know, the polling and data and all the people who watch this stuff, they had a pretty optimistic view on the night. >> well, fellow republican and louisiana governor bobby jindal is lashing out against his own party after last week's showing. jindal says republicans need to, quote, stop being the stupid party." he also called for the end of what he describes as dumbed down conservatism. and lame duck senator scott brown is urging his fellow republicans to widen the base. the moderate from massachusetts warns the group is the middle is vanishing. illinois congressman jesse jackson jr. has been discharged from the mayo clinic being treated for bipolar depression. he remains in minnesota as an

outpatient. politico reports moments after this youtube video of ken salazar was taken in colorado last week, salazar allegedly threatened to punch a newspaper reporter. a spokesman for him tells politico that he regrets the exchange. new jersey governor chris christie is warning those who live in towns damaged by sandy they're likely to see higher property taxes to help for rebuilding. finally, yep, that's bono spending a few moments with vice president biden at the white house. the u2 star was there to discuss aids and fighting poverty. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. barney frank said this -- >> there are clearly people within the republican party who don't want them to be more flexible, who want to go down in

flame flames and that's the key issue. there will be those who run, republican members of the house who understand they have to be more flexible and it's going to be interesting to watch, i hope that we'll find the courage to break with the tea party. to date i'm not encouraged. they continue to have that veto. >> don't miss "politics nation" on msnbc. well, now for a check won wall street. the dow fell 59 points tuesday. the s&p was down five. the nasdaq lost 20. taking a look at overseas trading. in tokyo, theny key nudged up 3 points and the hang seng up 253. impressive earnings from home depot gave the blue chip some support. on the down side, ohio based a.k. steel tanked 17% on a weak quarterly outlook. after the bell cisco surged on better-than-expected earnings.

in the wake of mounting protests by powerless victims of superstorm sandy, long island power's chief operating officer resigned. zynga's chief executive officer is going to work at facebook. the ceo of waffle house is facing accusations of sexual assault and attempted blackmail by a former employee. it was added "i am a victim of my own stupidity but i am not going to be a victim of crime, extorsion." steering defects and faulty water pumps have forced toyota to recall 2.7 million vehicles, including some prius hybrids and corollas. target employees have nearly 200,000 signatures for a petition asking not to open at 9:00 p.m. on thanksgiving night. strike debt, an offshoot of occupy wall street, has a new way to help struggling 99 percenters. a group of professors, filmmakers and corporate dropouts has

raised $129,000 to wipe out $2.5 million of defaulted debt for random people. meanwhile, here's a meal for 1 percenters with 99% taste, we'd imagine. 500 bucks for kobe beef topped with and stuffed with truffles at a beverly hills hotel. better be good. more enduring indulgence. mark rothko's 1954 oil on canvass number one royal red and blue brought in more than $75.1 million at sotheby's last night. well, an incredible mud slide caught on tape plus the woman and the idiot sign she must wear. and the jury verdict that breaks an unofficial police code of silence. headlines are straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. if you think running a restaurant is hard, try running four. fortunately we've got ink.

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some other stories making news around america today. there were no survivors on board a plane that crashed into a mississippi home. that fiery crash killed three people and injured one person who escaped the house before it burst into flames. the pilot and passengers were actually headed to an faa safety conference before it went down. a federal jury awarded $850,000 to a female bartender who suffered a vicious beating by an offduty chicago cop. lawyers for carolen acha abruska successfully argued the city's history of looking the

other way on the police code of silence shows this videotape of the beating that was key to the jury reaching their verdict. a cleveland municipal court judge is not too happy with a woman caught driving on a sidewalk to pass a loaded school bus. sheena hardin was ordered to carry a sign that says "only an idiot would drive on a sidewalk to pass a school bus." she was shown texting and leaning on the sign and will be personally monitored today. finally, a water main break is forcing california residents to dig out from under a mountain of mud. the break caused a massive mud slide that buried several cars and forced some evacuations after 45,000 gallons of water came gushing down into a daly city neighborhood. officials say the broken pipe is over 80 years old. quite the mess there. all right. how about a little sports. we start with the only unbeaten team in the nba. the new york knicks got 25 points from carmelo anthony, the league scoring leader in a 99-89 comeback win over orlando.

the knicks' five straight wins to open the season is their best since they made it into the nba finals in 1994. and a scary moment during the game as an orlando stunt team member fell when her footing slipped as she was being lifted to the man's shoulders. unbelievable. she waved to the crowd as she was taken to the hospital and she is expected to be okay. two upsets in college basketball as seth curry scored 23 points and number 9 duke knocked off number 3 kentucky, 75-68. and number 21 michigan state got a big second half from keith appling who finished with 19 points as they they edged kansas 67-64. in baseball the american league manager of the year was bob melvin, who led the oakland a's on a late season surge to their first title in six years. and the washington nationals'

skipper davey johnson is the national league manager of the year leading his team to the league best record. it was the second manager of the year award for both johnson and melvin. all right. now for your weather. bill karins is here. good morning to you again. >> a threat but definitely not like the nor'easter or sandy but because the area is very vulnerable in the northeast this is the next threat that could possibly impact people still cleaning up or do more damage in new england. the trend since yesterday is for a stronger ocean storm so that's bad but the good trend has been a little further off the coast, so what i'm thinking now is the concerns how it stands, the time lines also shift and instead of sunday through tuesday looks to be later, monday through wednesday, possibly just a glancing blow for areas along the jersey coast and new york coast. that's good but new england, the potential for beach erosion and coastal flooding. mostly up there from areas of providence all the way back up through cape cod into areas of massachusetts so we'll watch that next week. today no signs of anything. looking nice cold and crisp out there. this afternoon, plenty of sunshine after a chilly start in

the middle of the country and west coast, lynn, a nice wednesday across the country. >> all right, bill, thanks so much. just ahead, "people's" sexiest man alive. spoiler alert, bill karins didn't make the cut this year. >> i made the second tier, not the first. >> and just how anne hathaway got that gaunt look in her new movie. you're watching msnbc. about incorporating a business you'd like to start. or questions about protecting your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like to find the right attorney to help guide you along, answer any questions and offer advice. with an "a" rating from the better business bureau legalzoom helps you get personalized and affordable legal protection. in most states, a legal plan attorney is available with every personalized document to answer any questions. get started at legalzoom.com today. and now you're protected.

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so here's a nice way to wake up. a rare solar eclipse in northeast australia left spectators in the dark for a few minutes tuesday. viewers were instructed to wear those eye protecting goggles

because the sun's rays, right, were just as dangerous from behind the moon. the last full solar eclipse seen in australia was a decade ago. all right, how about some entertainment news. the day has come for today across the country it's a day of calm. this is what we've been needing "people" magazine to unveil 2012's sexiest man alive. rumors and speculation have channing tatum as a possible front-runner. but ryan gosling's always been a front-runner. i wonder why and there could always be a surprise man. anne hathaway is starring in the new "les mis" film. it causes her to lose 25 pounds. she went on a near starvation diet and all she ate were two squares of dried oatmeal paste a day. i don't even know what that is. i don't think that's even an appetizer.

an experience she said was definitely nuts. that's an understatement. now that the 2012 election is a thing of the past, steven kolber plans to take it nice and easy for a while. >> after two years of relentless poll analysis, electoral map swiping, undecided voter dial testing and being forced to use the word "cuyahoga" in a sentence, we can finally take a breather. just relax with a nice soothing cup of chamomile breeze and just let it all -- >> do you think it's too early to talk about 2016? we don't think so. >> not on this show. not on this show. all right. then listen to this bizarre story. actress janeane garofalo figures out she didn't know she was married for 20 years. apparently her and "big bang theory" producer rob cohn

drunkenly got married at a droov-through chapel. >> that's why i don't go to vegas. >> stay tuned. "way too early" is next. i'm lynn berry. [ phone ringing ] >> is the president willing to compromise on his insistence that the bush tax cuts are not extended for the top income bracket? >> no, he will not sign such a bill. that bill would never pass the senate, but if somehow miraculously it did, he would not sign it. >> president obama sends a loud and clear $1.6 trillion message to republicans to put up or shut up on taxes and the fiscal cliff. will the gop show up hat in hand to friday's white house meeting or will they be as defiant as they were in the president's first term? good morning to you, i'm peter alexander in for joe and mika on "way too early," the show that like the miami